‘Pants’ tells of woman’s love, loss

‘Pants’ tells of woman’s love, loss

By Barbara Hernandez

Daily Bruin Staff

In "Pants on Fire," a thirtysomething married woman contemplates
an affair with her daughter’s preschool teacher. Meditating on why
she would be unfaithful to her controlling and guilty husband she
says, "Maybe I think I want sex because I used to want it."

Written from a woman’s point of view, Jane Brucker’s clever
script of an unnamed woman, played by herself, works wonders.
Brucker’s woman, torn by desire, fidelity and marriage, takes on a
journey of insecurity, loss and renewal.

Long ignored by David, her often-angry husband, she’s ceased
trying to engage his interest in her, in sex, even in their
marriage. "I hate you hating me," she tells him, as their
relationship seems too far gone to both of them. Instead, she
starts looking at her daughter’s young handsome teacher, Reggie
Adcock, in a new light.

Aware of her vulnerability to an affair, she hires Adcock to
pose for a series of historical paintings. She ends up having sex
with him while he’s costumed as historical figures like Abraham
Lincoln, Christopher Columbus and Wyatt Earp.

While having her affair, she ignores her husband, only briefly
telling him Adcock is gay.

When she finds another woman’s shoe in Adcock’s apartment, she
begins to envision all the women in his life, all perfect and
having something she lacks. Her acute insecurity deems the other
woman someone better. They’re either younger, smarter, more
spiritual or sexier.

There’s her daughter’s babysitter Harvest, 18, with perky
breasts and, some woman in a Louise Brooks haircut with a degree in
physics, who makes documentaries and writes books. Maybe she’s a
New Age woman attuned to nature and her feelings, intuitive and
omniscient. Or possibly she’s that Hustler centerfold whose down
home advice rings true. "I never met a man who thought he had bad
legs, and there’s no free clitoral stimulation."

Her obsession with Adcock’s infidelity really masks her
insecurity about David’s fidelity. "I knew he was cheating on me by
the way his shampoo wasn’t being used." The six-month bottle of
shampoo only started to empty when she became pregnant. Although
she never talked about it again, her resentment is still as
fresh.

When David finally finds out about the affair, there’s a
confrontation, somewhat hopeful and open-ended and a lot like
life.

Brucker’s play isn’t a morality tale. It’s about being lost in a
sea of unease, about the hopelessness of the person pledged to love
you ac like he hates you. Her character is neither bad nor good,
just very unhappy.

Fueled with intelligent dialogue and rounded characters, even
though most are unseen, Brucker manages to convey a humanity to all
the people in her play. David isn’t merely a jerk, he’s allowed a
little vulnerability. Reggie, her lover, shows this as well. This
isn’t male-bashing, but a woman’s life, and her story isn’t made to
alienate men.

Brucker, clad in red and black against a full white set,
commands attention, her dramatic looks and presence making it
impossible for an audience not to be enthralled. Her script, full
of honesty and life humor, make her play easy to absorb and admire.
Combined with Beatts’ comic direction and Brucker’s great timing,
"Pants on Fire" is excellent. A great story told in a hilarious and
sometimes thoughtful way, "Pants on Fire" should be savored and
enjoyed.

THEATER: "Pants on Fire" by Jane Brucker. Directed by Anne
Beatts. Starring Jane Brucker. Now playing in "Downstairs at the
Met" Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Running through Nov.
19. TIX: $12. For more info, call (213) 957-1752.